“We fear that we are on the way to the fifth wave across the country,” Rouhani said at a meeting of the National Committee to fight the virus.
Iran is the country in the Near and Middle East most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The disease has killed more than 84,000 people out of a total of more than 3.2 million people infected, according to the latest official figures, largely underestimated by the authorities themselves.
“In recent weeks, it was announced that the Delta variant of the virus had entered the country from the South and the South-East”, recalled Mr. Rohani, calling on the inhabitants of these regions to be more “careful because the variant Delta has spread there ”.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE IRANIAN PRESIDENCY VIA AFP
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
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First identified in India, the much more contagious Delta variant is now present in at least 85 countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Iran has been facing since the end of March what the authorities present as a “fourth wave” of the epidemic, even more violent than the previous ones.
On May 5, the authorities confirmed the detection of three cases of the Delta variant in the province of Qom (center).
“Strict border control”
The Iranian health ministry said on Saturday that the provinces of Sistan-Balochistan, Kerman, Hormozgan and Fars, located in the south and south-east of the country, were now classified “red”, the highest level of epidemiological risk according to the color code adopted by the authorities to measure the risk of the virus spreading.
In the province of Tehran, 10 cities including the capital are also classified “red”.
In the red zones, all stores must close with the exception of businesses deemed essential, such as small grocery stores and pharmacies.
In Sistan-Balochistan, local authorities announced on Wednesday that they had closed “to travelers” the three border posts with Pakistan “until further notice”, nevertheless allowing road transport of goods.
On Saturday, Aliréza Raïssi, the spokesperson for the Committee to fight the disease, called for “strict border control” of the country, “especially in areas to the east” of Iran.
Strangled by US sanctions, the Islamic Republic deplores not being able to import enough vaccines to protect its population, given the difficulties in making payments to its suppliers abroad.
According to the Ministry of Health, more than 4.4 million people (out of a total population of 83 million) have received a first dose of vaccine since the start of the vaccination campaign in February, but only 1.7 million Iranians have received the two necessary doses.
“God willing, the situation will improve in terms of vaccination from next week. The vaccination will be more extensive ”, promised Mr. Rohani.
The authorities recently announced that they had approved the “emergency” use of two locally manufactured vaccines that have not yet obtained marketing authorization.
“We must strictly follow all the rules [sanitaires] that we have established for the “red zones” and other contaminated regions, Mr. Rohani insisted.
“If the rules are called into question or not respected, we will have a problem,” he warned.
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